The Montgomery County Charter Review Commission released its recommendations concerning possible changes to the county charter.
Councilmembers will review the recommendations. Any that are approved by the council will appear on the November ballot.
The commission members unanimously voted against allowing residents to vote for council president and the length of that person’s term. Currently, councilmembers choose who they want for president.
Commission members agreed with the recommendation that the term of the council president last for two years instead of the current one year.
However, the majority of the members opposed including the length of the president’s term as a change in the county charter. Instead, the majority favored making that a policy change in the council’s operating rules.
The majority of the commission members voted in favor of requiring that certain budget and tax revenue actions require a two-thirds majority for approval.
No recommendation was made following a tie vote on the matter of allowing the county executive to make appointments to non-merit positions below the level of department head or agency head without obtaining confirmation by the council.
The commission approved a proposed charter change that states that any appointment by the county executive for a non-merit position would be final if the council fails to reject the appointment within a specific amount of time. Members also approved changing the allotted time to reject a non-merit position go from the current 45 days to 60 days.
The 11-member commission is required to report its recommendations to the council in May of even numbered years.
